by Coach Mat | 21 Apr, 2018 | Speed and Pace, SPL, Stroke Length (SL), Swim Watch, Tempo Trainer, Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR)
In swimming measurements, do you know the difference between seconds per stroke and strokes per minute? Or the difference between tempo and stroke rate? Or when to use one over the other? Don’t worry if you don’t know, or don’t care. But sometimes...
by Coach Mat | 15 Oct, 2016 | Design Principles, External Feedback, Feedback Loop, How To Train?, Internal Feedback, Learning Methods, Mastery Process, Proprioception, Self-Coaching, Somatosensory Skill, Tempo Trainer, Training Theory
It is certainly encouraging and advantageous to be at a training event with a coach who can give you feedback right there in the moment of action. But, as one swimmer recently commented, it gets expensive to keep the live coach around. These events costs money....
by Coach Mat | 16 Aug, 2016 | Coaching Methods, Competitive/Performance Training, Design Principles, Energy Management, Failure, How To Train?, Injury, Injury Management, Injury Prevention, Kaizen (Continual Improvement), Muscle Training, Neuromuscular Training, Physiology, Plateau (No Progress), Practice Examples, Recommended Reading, Self-Coaching, SPL, Stroke Length (SL), Strength Training, Tempo Trainer, Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR), Training Theory, Triathlon Swimming, Weight-lifting
I want to keep confronting the false notion that fitness training and technical training are two separate activities in the pool. Fitness and Technique are truly inseparable, and should be regarded as such in every practice activity. All repetitive movement is...
by Coach Mat | 21 Mar, 2015 | Attention/Focus, Competitive/Performance Training, Distance Training, Energy Management, Lessons From Elites, Neuromuscular Training, Pace Combinations, Plateau (No Progress), Racing, Racing Skills, Speed and Pace, Speed Math, SPL, Stroke Length (SL), Sprint Training, Tempo Trainer, Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR), Training Theory, Triathlon Swimming
When you start feeling fatigue in your race (or while ‘just swimming’) you are urged to slow down. At some point you finally must give in. But when you do what is changing in your stroke to slow you down? SPL x Tempo = Pace (the inverse of the Speed...
by Coach Mat | 20 Jul, 2014 | Attention/Focus, Competitive/Performance Training, HR, Effort & Ease, Open Water Training, Practice Examples, Self-Coaching, Tempo Trainer, Training Theory, Triathlon Swimming
For most swimmers who desire it training in open-water may still only be an occasional or seasonal experience. That means most swimmers practice in the pool, swimming and measuring things between walls – this is ‘normal’ while swimming without walls...
by Coach Mat | 18 Jun, 2014 | Competitive/Performance Training, Distance Training, Navigation Skills, Open Water Training, Pacing, Speed and Pace, SPL, Stroke Length (SL), Tempo Trainer, Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR), Triathlon Swimming
Now that open-water season is more widely opened up in the Northern Hemisphere we should discuss some ideas about translating pool practice into open-water. It takes an adjustment in mindset to move from pool practice to open-water practice. When asked I let swimmers...
